Explore the Latest Innovations: Hackaday Links – February 23, 2025 Edition

Another week, another tech failure! Humane’s AI Pin, a fancy wearable device, is shutting down. The device was launched in April 2024 and had a unique design that resembled a Star Trek: The Next Generation badge. Users interacted with it by tapping the front, and it projected information on their hands, boasting various sensors and cameras. Despite the cool engineering, the company couldn’t make it work financially. As a result, they will turn off their servers on February 28. Refunds will only be given to those who bought an AI Pin within the past 90 days.

It’s puzzling how Humane thought a badge-like camera would succeed in the market. Would people feel comfortable wearing it in meetings, knowing that their colleagues could record everything? Wearing such a device in a locker room could lead to awkward situations. Unlike products like Google Glass, which were often seen as goofy, the AI Pin still faced issues with being too noticeable. The Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses come close, but their visible cameras are still a concern. Who wants to wear shades indoors all the time?

On a brighter note for those fearing an AI takeover, a recent study suggests we might not have to worry as much. Researchers tested various chatbots with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Surprisingly, the older models performed worse, hinting that maybe these AI systems will age like us. However, some argue this isn’t a perfect comparison since researchers couldn’t track scores over time like they do with humans.

Astronomers have their own challenges, battling both light pollution and radio interference. Areas designated as dark sky reserves and radio quiet zones are crucial for their work. Yet, noise still creeps in. Recently, astronomers discovered that strange TV signals interfering with their data were actually bouncing off airplanes flying nearby. This find came after using the array’s technology to trace the signals. Astronomers will use similar methods to identify other sources of interference from both the ground and satellites above.

Lastly, most of us prefer to share our achievements online rather than our missteps, and it’s easy to see why. Winning feels great, while failure can be tough to admit. But Daniel Dakhno embraces his failures by dedicating a section of his portfolio to them. They’re documented at the bottom of his page, organized by project type and failure mode. Each entry notes the time spent, which he views as “time invested” instead of “time wasted.” After all, every stumble holds a lesson.